Read Online The Lingering Grace by Jessica Arnold - Free Book Online

question,” Jeremy pointed out.
    Her mom looked to Alice for help, but Alice immediately started digging in the box again. The sound of crinkling plastic filled the kitchen.
    “Jeremy, we’re not getting a divorce. We just had a fight.”
    She sounded so sure of herself that even Alice was inclined to believe her. But her parents had fought before and she had never seen her dad as upset as he had been the night before. He had returned to the house around ten (she could hear him stomping around the kitchen) and was gone before she woke up. This was not just another argument over who should pick Jeremy up from school.
    “But you’re not getting a divorce? You promise?” Jeremy asked.
    “I promise.”
    Apparently mollified, Jeremy let the subject drop.
    “Mom? What were you fighting about?” Alice quietly asked as Jeremy put his bowl in the sink.
    Her mom went a little pale. “I’ll explain it to you later, hon. Not right now.”
    Alice nodded though she had a feeling her mom was just putting her off. She didn’t have time to argue with her about it anyway since Tony would be there any minute.
     
     

     
     
    For the second day in a row, Alice was a little too quiet on the drive to school. Fortunately, Tony seemed preoccupied today as well, and if he noticed that she wasn’t quite herself, he didn’t bring it up.
    When they were almost at her school, he said, “Oh I almost forgot to ask. What did your dad want last night?”
    “You know how he is—just thought I was staying out too late and wanted me home,” she answered quickly. As far as she knew, that was the truth anyway. For some reason she had no desire to tell Tony about what a mess last night had been. When she was trying and failing to fall asleep the night before, she had come very close to calling him. But something had stopped her, choked back the words. And though she had woken up cradling her cellphone, Tony was none the wiser.
    “Hope he wasn’t too mad.”
    “He wasn’t mad at me,” she said truthfully. Then, daring to broach the subject of Danny—“When did your brother get back?”
    “After midnight,” Tony said, rapping his fingernails on the steering wheel.
    “Midnight? I thought he was just going to the grocery store.”
    “So did I.”
    “So where did he really go?”
    Tony frowned. “I didn’t ask. I don’t want to know any more. Mom didn’t even try to get it out of him, and that’s saying something.”
    “You don’t think he’s getting into trouble already?” she asked. It was hard to believe someone just out of prison would be so eager to return.
    “Danny is trouble. He doesn’t even have to try to find it. It just follows him around.”
    He kissed her goodbye, lingering to run his hand through her hair.
    “I’m sorry I’m so distracted,” he said. She leaned in to kiss his cheek, just to show she wasn’t mad. That was one added stress he didn’t need right now.
    “It’ll be ok,” she assured him. “Even if your brother is an idiot, you and your mom will be okay. You aren’t responsible for him.”
    He smiled wanly. “I know. But sometimes I wish I were the older brother.”
    She watched him drive away before turning to school. He had gotten her there a little earlier than usual today—stress made him speed—and there were only a few other students around, leaning against the gates in small groups. She hurried past them, not daring to look too closely; she didn’t want to run into anyone she knew. Socializing was the last thing she wanted to do this morning, and she headed for the one place she knew she could be alone—even for a few minutes.
    Her first-period classroom was in a less crowded building and the hallway was deserted. She peeked into the door as she passed and saw Ms. Jordan at her desk, bent over her computer. When she finally got to the bathroom at the end of the hall, she saw with relief that it was empty as well. Not even bothering to lock herself in a stall, she dropped her